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Several of our clients have had questions recently on insuring their St Petersburg home. Here’s what we learned from Wallace, Welch & Willingham:

Yes, if you cancel your Citizens (or any other company) homeowners insurance policy when you sell your St Pete home, you will get a refund for the unused portion. There is always a basic or minimum policy fee, so the refund won’t be a proration based only on the number of days insured.

If you sell your Florida home and you have a flood insurance policy, you will also get a refund on the flood insurance policy. Note that if you arbitrarily cancel your flood policy, there will not be a refund. This is to prevent people from paying for flood insurance only during the hurricane season. If you’re buying a home, you should check to see if the seller has a current flood policy. If so, you may be able to assume it. If not (some owners without a mortgage self-insure), there may be a 30 day wait after you buy the house before you are covered.

Based on the renewal date for your policies, you may need to renew your insurance while it’s under contract for sale. This is something to consider when you are agreeing to a closing date, since you may have to renew for just 4 days but “pay for” two months of the insurance, considering the basic non-rebated fees.

It’s a good idea to review your home insurance coverage every year and discuss options with your insurance agent. What is covered can change, and companies come in and out of the market.